Firing mechanism for pistols



Nov. 17, 1953 R. D. PARRY 2,659,172

FIRING MECHANISM FOR PIsToLs Filed July 14, 195o log. j IN V EN TOR Zaber Parr] BY Patented Nov. 17, 1953 FIRING MECHANISM FOR PISTOLS Robert D. Parry, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Karl J. Eckstein and Eldon C. Mistler Application July 14, 1950, Serial N0. 173,808

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to repeater cap pistols, and the like, and has for an object the provision of a device that is easy and safe in operation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a self-action hammer and trigger assembly that is simple in construction and easily operated in positive response to a surprisingly light and smooth trigger pull.

A further object of the invention is to provide a self-action mechanism in which the trigger pull remains uniformly light under progressive loading of the hammer spring and which releases the hammer freely and instantaneously as the latter is raised to a predetermined limit.

A further object of the invention is to provide a repeater cap pistol that serves as an aid to the education of children and others in the operation and care of mechanical devices, by providing a structure that is subject to dismantling, cleaning,

and reassembling.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cap pistol of the break-down loading type which is easy and safe to load, and which is incapable of accidentally discharging a cap in the ammunition cap strip until the device is in a safely closed condition.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein and exemplified in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front end elevational view of a cap pistol embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view showing the inner face of the right hand side of the device with the operating parts assembled thereon.

Fig. 3 is an elevational view showing the left hand barrel member.

Fig. 4 is an elevational View showing the left hand frame member.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental side elevational View showing the hammer fully raised and also showing in dotted lines the position of the linkage after the hammer falls and before the trigger is released.

It is a rather common characteristic of selfaction mechanisms that the trigger pull is rather heavy and lacking in uniformity so that a user aiming the arm develops a detrimental muscular tension and trembling as the trigger movement continues. The self action is, in fact, not used in target score shooting because of this well-known disadvantage.

The present invention obviates this fault completely and permits a child to operate the pistol:

without experiencing the effects of irregular, or

increasingly heavy trigger pull. The simulation of aiming and firing is simplified while the effect of the self-action is retained.

The cap pistol I 0 of the invention, in the illustrated embodiment, simulates a Derringer gun with characteristic short barrels I I arranged one above the other, and an unguarded trigger I2. The device is of split construction.

The construction includes a right hand barrel I,member I3 which includes the entire front sight I4, and a left hand barrel member I5, held in matched position near the forward interior by a stud pin I6 on member I3 seating in a blind hole Il in member I5. Members I3 and I5 have hinge lugs I3 and I9 respectively with matching holes 20 which together form the center eye of a hinge about whichthe right and left hand frame members 2I and 22 may turn as a unit on the assembled barrel members. A screw 23 has the end threadedly entered into frame member 2 I, the center of the screw in holes 2B of the barrel sections serving as the pintle, and the head of the screw 23 seated in a counterbore 2li in the frame member 22. A spring pressed lug 25 located in a bore 26 in the left hand barrel member I5, and yieldably urged through a hole 21 in left hand frame member 22, serves to normally latch the frame and barrel assemblies against hinge movement about the screw 23. By this arrangement the the barrel assembly may swing down about pivot 23 on release of the latch lug 25, in the fashion of breakdown guns, thus accessibly exposing the rear portion of the barrel assembly that is normally disposed in concealed and in closed-in relation between the forward parts of the two frame sections. The right hand barrel member I3 has a wall portion ISI! atits rear end provided with a flange 28 along the top and rear ends. The left hand barrel member I5 has a 'flange 29 corresponding to the flange 28 on the companion member I3. The flanges 28 and 29 are serrated along the top faces to simulate a nonglare surface Sii-30 behind which said flangesare inclined at approximately 45 degrees to form ananvil 3I-3 I, one or both of which are slightly cut away as indicated at 32 (see Fig. 2) to provide a spark relief slot along the center of the anvil face when the barrel sections are assembled in edgewise abutment along the said anges. The outer faces of the anvil portions 3 I-3`I have taper grooves 33 sloping toward the cutaway portion 32. The wall portion ISI) of the right hand barrel member, or casting I3 has a short pin or lug 34 .that enters a matching recess 35 in the left hand barrel member, or casting I5. The wall E30 also 37 and the free end. of the strip is guided around the free ends of the abutting flanges 28 and l29 and thence upwardly over the outer face and onto the slotted anvil 3 I.

Frame members 2| and 22 :haveflanges 40 and 4I respectively, extending along the bottom and rear thereof to form the shape ofthe handleland to close the space between theside 'plate portion of said frame, said flanges being cut away "to 'allow the generally triangular trigger piece |2 to project vthrough at the bottom and to allow the hammer arm 42 Yto pass between them at the top. Hammer arm i2 is pivoted on a pin 43 on the inside of frame 2| and said pin enters a drilled boss 4A on the inside face of frame 22. The trigger I2 is mounted on a pin 45 carried by frame 2| and entered 'into drilled boss 46 on the inside face of frame 22. A matching pair of rib members S1-41 are drilled at 48 to receive a bolt 49 to hold handle grip plates 50 and 5I together on the open skeleton part of the frame members in a manner common in firearms. stiff leaf type hammer spring 52 is seated at one end in a notch Y53 formed in flanges 40 and 4I, while the other end of the spring is seated in a notch 54 in the rear end of hammer arm 42. The striker 55 of hammer 52 is serrated to co'- operate with the serrated, or ribbed portion of anvil 3| and to assure the explosion of the cap strip charge on the anvil when the hammer falls thereon under the power of spring 52. This assures escape of spark andrsmoke through the slot 32-32 in the anvil and against the outer curved face of arcuate flange 35 v -whichrprotects the cap roll 39 against accidental ignition Aby sparks, and also directs any sparks and smoke towardan in'- clined baffle 55 that closes the upper barrel I I and directs the explosion products into the lower barrel |I where ya forwardly andv oppositely inclined baille 51 causes the smoke to be deflected upwardly into the upper barrel I I. The firing of caps thus causes a moving volume of smoke to issue harmlessly, but realistically, 4from the -openY end of the upper barrel II, However, any sparks from the explosion of the cap under the hammer block are extinguished and particle matter of any kind is effectively baifled against discharge through the barrel.

The improved self action mechanism 'of the invention, as can be seen in Figs. 2 and 5, cornprises a hammer link 58, a toggle link 59 -and a feed nger or link 50. Link 58 has -its top pivot-Av ally connected intermediate the ends of hammer arm 42 by a pin 5I.y Toggle link 5) has its topv end pivoted to the bottom end of hammer link 58 by pin 62. Links 58 and 59 havemutually abutting shoulders 53--53 which are normally disposed with the cooperating abutting edges in a common plane with the axis of pin 62 where they are yieldably held by the action of a small coil spring 56 that encircles pin 62 and presses its opposite end against the respective shoulders 63-53. The feed finger 5|] has a pivoted connec-V tion midway its ends with the lower end 'of linkl 59 while the lower end of said feedfinger is -piv'- 4 oted to the rear end of the generally triangular trigger I2 by means of pin 65.

A wire trigger spring 65 has one end hooked about pin 55 and has a single coil encircling the trigger pivot pin and a short forwardly extending end resting on the frame flange immediately ahead of the trigger.

The .parts automatically assume the Aposition shown in Fig. 2 :wherein the projecting finger portion of the trigger is yieldably held in a forward position ready to be squeezed or pulled back by the users nger in operating the self action firing o'f the gun. The trigger spring also holds the rear. Aend of the trigger down and the Yfreefend of Vfeed nger 60 is held in a lowered TYpbsiiiitni bysaid end of the trigger. The hammer linkl 58. and toggle 59 are held in a straight line by "their spring 54 and together they 1'hold the feed ringer spaced away from the outside face of the ange 38 on which the advancing end portion 'of cap roll strip 39fis1positioned. The lhammer rests on the -cap anvil 3'I under the pressure v-of the hammer spring 52 and secures the end of the cap strip, and also vdeter-- mines the position of the llinks 581and 59 =as just described. Y

In operation, when digital lpressureis exerted on the trigger the latter pivots about .pin 45,*and lifts pin 55 as the pressure of the -light trigger spring S6 is overcome. The -feed finger -Gyis immediately moved about its ypi-vot on..pin.'65 `so that the free end of the feed Anger lis lpositively moved against the cap str-ipresti'ngfon flange 38'.l

roll on pin 3l to correspondingly lunroll. `Dur-ing this same continui-ng .movement fthe .abutment shoulders 53-53 yare held together` Aand the -trigger link and togglev link., remain aligned and exert a smooth powerful end thrust on .pin-5| causing the hammer -to raiseagainst the -resistance of 'trigger spring -52 :and 'allowing Ithe unspentend ofthe cap strip vto'be advanced between the anvil 3| and the hammerblock55 which :are progressivelyseparatedas the hammer is thus pushed back, loading the rather heavy hammer spring. The parts nally assume the full .line position as shown in Fig. -5 -whereinth-e lhammer link 58 and toggle link 1{Slggare approaching a horizontal position and thefree :end of the feed nger is considerably elevated on the lila-nge t321i` mer fall the linkage remainsA jacky-knifed, orA folded,y vbut the-free end ofthe feed Vfinger `re'-4 mains lightly held on the cap strip by springt@ only When the trigger isfreleased, the finger is bodily retracted fr-om theMcapwstri-p'gas springs 54 and Y5 Srestorethe partsftoposition 'forY another cyclefof operation.-

The device is easily taken apart, :cleaned and reassembled and thus serves as an educational toy and fosters mechanical interest rather than mere noise making on the part of children.`

it is to be noted rthat 'whencatch 254s `released and barrel portions =28 :and 29 rare turned down.-

up out of cooperative relation to the action of the hammer so that loading with a cap strip roll, such as 39, is both easy and entirely safe. The cap roll 39 is merely placed over the pin 31 so that the free end of the cap strip leads from the bottom of the roll and beyond the lower end of the vertical guide flange. When the pistol is again closed the end of feed linger 6c will turn the free end upward. As the trigger pull is initiated said finger 6c presses the strip against the guide flange and then pushes the strip upwardly to the anvil.

It is to be noted that the hammer spring is progressively loaded by the continuing trigger pull and serves to hold the feed finger 6i) securely against the cap strip during feed movement, thus assuring positive feed of the strip and smooth action of the trigger pull as the hammer spring is loaded. All operations are very simple and easy, and in firing all sparks are driven through the cap strip and pass through the anvil slot together with all incidental particle matter. The sparks are extinguished interiorly of the pistol and the particles are baiiied against velocity discharge from the front end of the barrel although smoke is permitted to escape from the front of the gun as an interesting visual effect that is entirely harmless to both user and bystanders.

The mechanism provides ease of trigger pull and the unfailing positive return of the trigger when the latter is released after the hammer fall. The absence of heavy pressure on the cap strip, except during positive feed movement, provides noteworthy safety to the user in the interval prior to the hammer fall, in addition to the safe control of the explosion products as previously set forth.

What is claimed is:

1. Self-action hammer mechanism for a pistol comprising a spring urged hammer, a spring urged trigger pivoted intermediate its ends below the hammer, a guide fiange extending upright above the level of the trigger pivot, a finger pivoted at its bottom end on the rear end of the trigger and having a free end, a thrust linkage including a spring toggle joint, said linkage pivotally connected at its lower end intermediate the ends of the finger and pivoted at its top end intermediate the ends of the spring urged hammer and serving to normally hold the free end of the finger away from the guide iiange when the hammer and trigger are released to the influence of their respective springs, the trigger being manually movable about its pivot against the resistance of its spring whereby the free end of the finger is first moved forwardly into contact with and then slidably upwardly along the guide flange said upward sliding movement of said finger serving to correspondingly elevate the connected lower end of the thrust linkage and cause the latter to thrust endwise against the hammer for pivoting the hammer against the resistance of its spring, and a xed abutment pin engageable adjacent the spring toggle joint of the thrust linkage for breaking said joint and releasing the hammer to the influence of its spring, release of the trigger to its spring action serving to return the parts to their iirst described relation.

2. Self-action hammer mechanism of the class described comprising a frame, a spring returned trigger pivoted intermediate its ends on the frame whereby the rear end of the trigger is moved upwardly during manual movement of the trigger against its spring, a hammer pivoted adjacent its rear end on said frame above and rearwardly of the rear end of said trigger, a hammer spring,

6, a linger pivoted at its lower end to the rear end of the trigger, an upright guide flange above the trigger pivot, a toggle link pivotally connected at its lower end intermediate the ends of the finger, a hammer link pivoted at its top intermediate the ends of the hammer, a spring toggle joint connecting adjacent ends of the hammer link and toggle link and releasably holding said links in over-center rigid condition for operation as a straight linkage unit, said unit being proportioned in length so as to hold the ringer upright with its free end spaced from the guide flange when the hammer and trigger are released to the iniiuence of their respective springs, and so that manual operation of the trigger initially elevates the finger and causes the linkage unit to pivot the iinger on the trigger and contact the free end of the nger on the guide iiange at an acute angle to the latter and dispose the pivotal connection of the linkage unit with said linger above the level of the trigger pivot so that further upward movement of the linger under manual trigger movement pivotally shifts the hammer against the resistance of the hammer spring under the end thrust by the linkage unit and causes the latter to transmit progressively increasing proportions of the accumulated energy of the hammer spring to the guide flange through the free end of the finger and correspondingly decreasing proportions of said accumulated energy to the rear end of the trigger in opposition to the manual trigger pull, and a iixed abutment in the path of the linkage unit for shifting the spring toggle joint out of over-center position for releasing the hammer to the influence of the hammer spring.

3. Self-action mechanism for a pistol, a spring powered hammer, pivotally mounted at one end thereof, a trigger biased to inoperative position and pivotally supported intermediate its ends, a feed finger pivoted at its lower end to one end of the trigger, a hammer link pivoted at its upper end to the hammer intermediate the ends of the latter, a toggle link having its lower end pivotally connected intermediate the ends of the feed finger, and having its upper end pivotally connected to the lower end of the hammer link, cooperating abutment shoulders at adjacent ends of the respective links limiting relative pivotal movement in one direction, a spring biasing the links to the said limit of movement, means providing a guide surface for slidable engagement by the free end of the feed iinger during digital operation of the trigger, and an abutment pin for engaging the toggle link adjacent its pivotal connection with the hammer link and causing pivotal movement of the links against the yielding bias of their spring as the linkage is bodily moved by the linger during further digital operation of the trigger.

4. Self-action mechanism of the class described comprising a spring urged hammer pivoted at its rear end, a spring urged trigger pivoted intermediate its ends, a guide flange, a feed iinger pivoted at its lower end to the rear end of the trigger, a thrust linkage including a spring toggle joint, said linkage pivoted at its top intermediate the ends of the hammer and at the bottom intermediate the ends of the feed finger, and a fixed abutment in the path of movement of the spring toggle joint as said finger and linkage are moved under manual movement of the trigger, manual operation of the trigger initially raising the nger and causing it to pivot, under the injiuence of the linkage to contact the free end of the finger on the flange and dispose the longitudinal axis 0f aforisma 7? helinkage fon fa. .line passing :above-ehe femerger. pli-vot 'and in .position yfor.lexeriing end it w rust'to the .hammer against June yielding-resistance fof the hammer. spring ydn'f'ng eenvinued forgger operation, Athe eo'un't'e-r thrust 0T fitheil'mm'mer spring :being .direetezl 'through 'the linkage and theopp'osite ends of Lnger, zparltly against-the trigger :for .materially diminishing theiresista'nc'e to manual operation-o the trigger :uniti-1..'Inox/fe` ment of the-springftog'gle jointaga'in'st tizeiie.` abutment breaks v.the toggle joint and-releases the hammer to the kvthrust 'oithe-hamrner'fsprling. J5.` In a device lof 'the class escribed thefcemspring returnedtrigger, an uprigh-tingerpvotecl on the trigger and v.ern-,ending alongside -thefguiaf a hammer supported Vrearwarc1131 '-o'f `rthe guide and spring urged toward the guide, a hammer flink p-vete'd at its top to the hammer, -a ltoggle-'link piveted at its bottom lintermediatethe -endsfof thefringer, a spring toggle joint iconnect'ng"ael'j'af-A cent ends of said hammer lim; and-toggle llink whereby links arenermally aligneel forwiifhholding he free end of `the "finger from 't'he'guicleV when said 'trigger is at the Iimit-'O'f-movement under the influence of `its vreturnffspring, manual movement of the-trigger serving I'to move fthe -free endfof the linger to sliding abutment along thel upright guide and 1to thereby elevate ih'e fass'o- 8. eiate'dpivote'cifend-.odthe Ltoggle .link in. thefsame diretienifor.iprevding :a 'rearward 'thrust :on the aligned toggle-fand 'hammer links :to :move 'the against fthe resistance Uf Vits fsprng, 'and va'fiiiedabr11-,ment spaced rearwardly of the guide infthepath'bfisaid spring toggle joint as'theilinks aremeve under manual movement ofthe trigger for bre'akingcsaid toggle joint and releasing the hammer :to the linnn-'ence "of its spring.

6:1 The :combination as set, .forth :in :claimfl :and

further nharacterzerfbythe .'fafctfthat `the "guider flange 51's; married 'by .a Structure which is latched in-ft'he #operative .position "and Yis movable away frnmfsaidp'ositidn out :of the .path 'of movement offzrre ngerrendering manual bperatio'n fof the trigger .inoperative to Imnve the hammer.

ROBERT 1D. PARRY.'

References fCited in *bhe le of k"this patent 

